Modular roof protector for periods of high winds

ABSTRACT

An invention where a roof protector comprised of a group of modular panels which can be interconnected having the qualities of lightness, strength, flexibility and durability and when connected to strong anchor points and installed over a roof, such panels serve to provide adequate protection against uplift and shingle damage of the roof and roofing components of manufactured homes, fixed foundation homes or other structures against damage caused by high winds such that might occur during a hurricane.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Provisional Patent Application No. 60/612,214 Filing Date Sep. 23, 2004

FEDERALLY SPONSORED REASERACH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTSING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to methods of securing the roof and roofing components of manufactured homes, fixed foundation homes or other structures against damage caused by high winds such that might occur during a hurricane.

Hurricane winds cause damage to homes in a variety of ways, but largely by partial roof failures such as tearing of roof shingles and more severely by uplift where the roof is caused to act like an airplane wing and fly off the remainder of the building which often results in total structural failure. Even in instances where only partial roof failures occur, rain will often saturate the home destroying the contents and rendering the home uninhabitable.

Few options exist for the homeowner to counter uplift and fewer still exist to deter shingle failure. In the effort to counter uplift, methods include the application of metal straps under the roof eaves (Hurricane Clips), or strong straps over the roof (Hurricane Straps), these methods seek to supplement the roof/wall assembly and to provide a resistance force to the uplift force that is applied by the wind. While the current methods provide additional strength to the structure, they are often insufficient to provide an adequate degree of protection. Methods to prevent shingle damage are largely held by the shingles themselves as manufacturers employ methods of manufacture in the attempt to increase the survivability of shingles, tiles and other roofing materials in hurricane conditions. However, any number of studies shows these advances in shingle manufacturing remain unsatisfactory.

While it is generally understood how to make a structure able to survive significant hurricane winds, the cost to retrofit or build a home to the standards of a fully engineered building is prohibitive. Prior art does not define a fast, easy, and economically feasible means by which a typical home built with common construction materials and techniques can be reinforced against roof uplift and shingle damage on a temporary basis by a homeowner so that the home will perform as a retrofitted or fully engineered building would in a hurricane.

2. Objects and Advantages

This invention provides a device that a homeowner can employ to provide a significant deterrence to roof damage during hurricanes. Several objects and advantages of the present invention are:

-   -   (a) To provide a protector device that is fast and easy to         deploy when needed     -   (b) To provide a protector device that supplements the strength         of a typical residential roof such that the roof would have a         higher degree of protection from hurricane wind damage.     -   (c) To provide a protector device that has a means to         sufficiently counter uplift forces applied to the roof.     -   (d) To provide a protector device that has a means to protect         shingles from being torn from the roof.     -   (e) To provide a protector that adds a minimal amount of windage         to the structure.     -   (f) To provide a protector device that is inexpensive to         manufacture.     -   (g) To provide a protector that is modular, such that easy to         handle individual panels connect to form the whole protector.     -   (h) To provide a protector device that is lightweight, compact,         and easy to store when not in use.     -   (i) To provide a protector device that does not require complex         retrofitting of a structure.     -   (j) To provide a protector device that is durable and weather         resistant.     -   (k) To provide a protector device that is configurable to a         variety of roof sizes and styles.     -   (l) To provide a protector device that is capable of protecting         a roof made of a various materials.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

SUMMARY

An invention where a roof protector comprised of a group of modular panels which can be interconnected having the qualities of lightness, strength, flexibility and durability and when connected to strong anchor points and installed over a roof, such panels serve to provide adequate protection against uplift and shingle damage.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the panel

FIG. 1A shows a close-up view of a corner with a cutaway showing details of the assembly.

FIG. 2 shows several panels in place over a home as would be deployed in a typical installation

FIG. 3 shows an elevated view of the panel placement over a roof in a typical installation. Arrows on (18) indicate the direction of pull and are illustrative only.

FIG. 4 shows a close-up view how two panels are joined, all corners join in a similar manner and a detail of the roof edge and the 24 inch border. Arrows on (18) indicate the direction of pull and are illustrative only.

DRAWINGS Reference Numerals

10 mesh component 12 abrasion resistant material 14 cable loop 16 cable 18 tensionable strap 20 grommet attachment point 22 knotted junction 24 lacing 26 hemmed edge 28 short end 30 long end 32 compression fitting 34 3.0 inch border 36 24.0 inch border 38 patch 40 hook 42 connecting hardware 44 roof shingle 46 stitching

DETAILIED DESCRPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention uses the following preferred methods to manufacture:

The invention is comprised of a panel of the preferred approximate dimensions of 10′×20′ each panel is a composite structure comprised mainly of a mesh panel where on the short ends of said panel are laced to a length of steel cable and encased in a protective layer of abrasion resistant material. A number of grommets are placed along the perimeter of the short sides of the panel so that they provide points of attachment that is reinforced by the cable. The manufacture of each panels follows the steps where:

The 10.0×17.0 foot mesh component is preferred to be made from 2.0 mm diameter twine crossed perpendicularly such that a square mesh shape is derived and it is further preferred that the junction of crossed twine is knotted so as to resist unraveling should a section of the mesh be damaged. It is further still preferred that the size of the mesh square be 2.0 inches. An advantage of the mesh verses another material is that the mesh when not in tension is unstructured and will collapse into a very small area, additionally still, the small size of the mesh square serves to limit the catching of the shingle edges as it is positioned in place on a roof and also limits the danger of having ones foot ensnared by the mesh while it is being installed. Further, mesh provides very little windage, as a result wind does not significantly lift nor apply much load to the panel and does not additionally burden the anchoring system with loads that would be created if the panel where made of a material which did not allow the wind to flow through. A further advantage of the mesh is that is easily mended such that it can be readily repaired and by the same techniques the mesh can be gathered or shortened as needed for a more custom fit.

A preferred method of reinforcing the mesh ends is through the use of a length of cable which is attached to each short end of the mesh panel by lacing the cable to the mesh with a twine of sufficient strength such as a 2.0 mm diameter twine and number of turns to retain the same strength of the mesh so that the effect is that the cable becomes the terminus end of each short side of the mesh panel and is able to bear the full load of the mesh panel. The length of cable is preferred to be 10.0 feet long so that it runs the length of the short edge of the mesh. This cable is preferred to be galvanized and 0.25 inch diameter such that it provides sufficient weather resistance, weight and substance to make the short ends easy to manage and provides sufficient mass to form an effective reinforcing function to the hemmed edges of the finished panel. At each end of the cable, a loop of approximately 2.0 inches is formed by the cable and made fast with compression fittings such that the loop is strong and robust. This loop serves the purpose of being a strong point of attachment for the anchoring component at the corner ends and assures a secure means of attachment.

The two short ends of the mesh and cable assembly is encased in a protective layer of reinforced material. It is preferred to use a PVC cloth reinforced with nylon thread such that the cloth has the properties of being durable and strong.

On one edge, the cloth border is approximately 3.0 inches in width with patches at each edge that are sewn info the long edges such that tensile loads are distributed along a larger portion of the long edge where the long edge will form an edge with the loop end of the cable. The opposite short edge is encased in the same PVC cloth but forms a 24.0 inch wide border. This wide border serves the function of distributing loads over a large area where the panel will go over the gutter edge of the roof. Without said wide border, when the panel is positioned as it would be used, roof edge would tend to impede the smooth tensioning of the panel as the mesh component and roof edge would engage and the mesh would tend to cut the shingles as the panel is tensioned and would tend to also abrade the nylon twine of the mesh panel compromising the usefulness of the panel. The preferred method of securing the PVC cloth is sewing in a manner such that the stitching reinforces the areas of high load and direction of pull that the panel will endure.

The mesh panels, cable reinforcement and PVC cloth borders are assembled so as to be structurally integrated. A standard two part metal grommet of 13 mm diameter are used to identify and reinforce points of attachment for the panel both as an identifier as to where to connect panels and as a location to attach anchor points. These points of attachment are at intervals, which allow for an even tensioning of the invention while in use. The invention uses as part of its method of application readily available and inexpensive tensionable tie-down straps and earth-anchors or other sufficient means to secure the panels in a strong manner.

In use the invention works in two ways. One by being the mechanism that transfers the wind loads from the roof to the earth-anchors the second by limiting the range of lift of the shingles. In use, the invention is placed over the structure, covering the roof. Once the invention is over the structure, the tension straps are attached to the corresponding grommet points on the panel in a number sufficient to provide the needed down-force and evenly distribute the load across several points. The opposite ends of the tension straps are attached to anchor points along the foundation of the home, the underside of mobile homes or to pre installed earth-anchors. The tension straps are then tensioned as needed to apply sufficient down-force over the roof of the structure so that the invention is tightly drawn over the structure. An additional benefit of the invention is that multiple units could be combined to bring the tensioned mesh near ground level providing additional protection against flying debris.

Once the invention is secured in place, wind-force applied to the roof is distributed to the mesh; the uplift force is transferred to the short edges, then down to the anchor points. The mesh itself captures and stops the shingle from lifting, thereby protecting the roof.

Although the specification above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. The invention is intended to be a modular system where multiple units can be joined to accommodate larger structures. The panel size noted of the invention herein is intended for the manufactured home industry and is sized appropriately for this type of home such that the panels can be mass produced efficiently with reasonable assurance that one size panel will fit most homes in this category. However, nothing should be construed from this description to restrict the size or configuration of the panel, application or the materials used in the invention. For example, the panel may have other sizes and shapes, such as square, triangular, trapezoidal, etc; the panels could be made for site built homes, commercial buildings, recreational vehicles, boats, etc; the border could be of another material, the mesh could be of another material, the reinforced areas could be achieved by another method, etc. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. A modular roof protector for homes during high winds comprising: a) A series of related panels that have a means to be securely interconnected; b) said panels having a means to be anchored securely in place. 